
Adolescence in Crisis
Understanding Your Teenager, Restoring the Dialogue
By Gildas Garrec · 240 pages · 2025
About this book
A guide for parents navigating teenage distress, school anxiety, bullying and withdrawal. Recognize warning signs and explore ways to restore communication.
Your teenager shuts themselves in their room, answers you in monosyllables, or worse — you've discovered self-harm scars, signs of distress you don't know how to approach? This clinical guide is written for overwhelmed parents facing a teenager in crisis, across eight chapters that explore how the teenage brain works, the real impact of social media, school-related anxiety (sometimes called school phobia), bullying and cyberbullying, all the way to the most alarming signals — depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts — and behavioral issues such as defiance, risk-taking, and addiction. Grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication, it offers a concrete parenting stance for restoring dialogue without minimizing or overdramatizing. Every chapter combines scientific references, clinical cases, and practical tools to help you recognize warning signs, respond without giving in to panic, and reconnect with your teenager — because, as this book reminds you, your presence matters more than you think.
Table of contents
- 1"My Son Has Gone Crazy"
- 2A Construction Site That Lasts Twenty-Five Years
- 3Risk-Taking: A Biological Necessity
- 4The Social Brain: Why Friends Matter So Much
- 5Sleep: A Neglected Biological Need
- 6The Role of Hormones: A Powerful Cocktail
- 7Neuroplasticity: A Tremendous Opportunity
- 8Case Study: Lucas and the Motorcycle
- 9What the Adolescent Brain Means for Parents
- 10Practical Exercise: The Observation Journal
- 11The New Playground
- 12What the Data Say
- 13Social Comparison: The Silent Poison
- 14Cyberbullying: Violence That Never Stops
- 15The Attention Economy: Understanding the Business Model
- 16The Positive Effects: Don't Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater
- 17Concrete Strategies for Parents
- 18Case Study: Chloe and Instagram
- 19The Particular Case of Video Games
- 20Practical Exercise: The Family Digital Audit
- 21The Invisible Affliction
- 22Normal Anxiety vs. Pathological Anxiety
- 23The Different Forms of Anxiety in Adolescents
- 24The Mechanisms of Anxiety: Understanding in Order to Act
- 25CBT Approaches for Adolescent Anxiety
- 26The Role of Parents in the Face of Anxiety
- 27Case Study: Thomas and School Refusal
- 28Practical Exercise: The Anxiety Thermometer
- 29The Broken Dialogue
- 30Why Communication Deteriorates During Adolescence
- 31The Gordon Method: Communication Without Losers
- 32Motivational Interviewing: Inspiring Change from Within
- 33Quality Moments
- 34The Most Common Mistakes
- 35Case Study: Emilie and the Impossible Conversation
- 36When Communication Happens Through Writing
- 37Difficult Conversations
- 38Practical Exercise: The Communication Notebook
- 39A Silent Scourge That Undermines Schools
- 40The Faces of Bullying
- 41Cyberbullying: When Persecution Never Stops
- 42Recognizing Warning Signs
- 43The Psychological Impact of Bullying: Deep Wounds
- 44The Bullying Triangle: Bully, Victim, Bystanders
- 45What to Do When Your Teenager Is Being Bullied
- 46Preventing Bullying: Building Social Resilience
- 47When Your Teenager Is the Bully
- 48Moving Beyond the Myth of the "Teenage Phase"
- 49Adolescent Depression: An Often Deceptive Face
- 50Treating Adolescent Depression
- 51Self-Harm: Understanding Without Judging
- 52The Role of Parents: Between Vigilance and Hope
- 53Opposition: When "No" Becomes a Way of Life
- 54Risk-Taking: The Quest for Limits
- 55Addictions in Adolescence
- 56Crisis as Opportunity
- 57Rebuilding the Bond: The Foundations
- 58When to Consult: Knowing How to Ask for Help
- 59Resilience: The Capacity to Bounce Back
- 60Rebuilding After the Crisis: A Path, Not a Destination
- 61Reference Works
- 62Scientific Articles
- 63References to Be Verified
- 64In the Same Collection


